CFC - the Forgotten Climate Killer
Out of sight, out of mind – since their prohibition in the Montreal Protocol, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) have been forgotten. With the gradual prohibition of these substances, the problem appeared to be solved at the beginning of the 1990s. This conclusion is deceptive, however, because old refrigerators and freezers still contain a considerable quantity of CFCs which can enter the atmosphere if not recycled correctly. This is all the more serious because CFCs damage the ozone layer and increase the greenhouse effect.
The extremely high degree of damage caused by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) prompted the international community of states to apply the Montreal Protocol in 1987, phasing out the production and use of ozone-damaging gases. The Protocol entered into force in 1989 and since then it has been amended many times. It is among the most successful international environmental agreements – Kofi Annan even described it in 2003 as «perhaps the single most successful international agreement to date».
Looking at it today, however, the Montreal Protocol demonstrates a serious inadequacy: since the mid-’90s it has indeed regulated the production and the uptake rate of CFCs. However, the Montreal Protocol does not regulate the environmentally compatible recycling of old air-conditioning, refrigeration or deep-freeze appliances or other CFC-containing waste, which would prevent climate-damaging CFC emissions. The Kyoto Protocol even excludes CFCs completely and restricts itself to the greenhouse gases CO2, CH4, N2O, HFCs, PFCs and SF6. This has allowed CFCs to become the «forgotten climate killers».
However, the recycling of CFC-containing waste and in particular the environmentally sound destruction of CFCs corresponds fully with the basic aims of both agreements on climate protection. This is because CFCs are particularly dangerous greenhouse gases. So, for instance, one tonne of CFC R11 from the insulating layer of refrigerators is equivalent to a greenhouse effect (Global Warming Potential, GWP) of 4,600 tonnes of CO2. Even more damaging is CFC R12 from the cooling circuit: one tonne has a GWP of 10,600 tonnes of CO2.
On average around 440 grams of CFCs are released per refrigerator. This might seem a small quantity, but because of the high GWP of CFCs it causes enormous damage. For every refrigerator recycled correctly, greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 1 to 2 tonnes of CO2 can be avoided.
By way of comparison, each person in Switzerland today releases around 2 tonnes of CO2 a year from the combustion of fuel in vehicles used for commuting, shopping and leisure. Calculated on the basis of the Swiss fleet target for 2015 (130 g CO2 per car kilometre), this means that with just one recycling plant, a greenhouse effect of around 4.62 billion car kilometres can be avoided each year.
In view of its enormous GWP, qualitative first-class destruction of CFCs plays a not inconsiderable part in global climate protection. There is expected to be a huge increase in the numbers of refrigeration appliances to be recycled in the next few decades. In terms of climate protection, the correct and environmentally compatible recycling of appliances containing CFCs as well as the recovery and destruction of those CFCs must therefore be an urgent concern.
CFCs enter the stratosphere during various processes and react with the ozone layer through catalysis. This is how its protective function is destroyed. Dangerous UV rays, in particular UV-B, have increased penetration down to the earth’s surface. If UV-B exposure increases on earth a clear increase in skin cancer and serious eye diseases would have to be reckoned with, as well as immune system disturbances. In plants, photosynthesis in the leaf’s chlorophyll is impaired, resulting in a strong decline in harvests. In the seas the growth of phytoplankton is on the wane with noticeable consequences for the whole food chain. In addition, CFCs absorb light in the infrared spectrum thus contributing to global warming.